Hoopville - West Coast Conference

UCSB Assistant to Leave for San Francisco: UC Santa Barbara assistant coach Danny Yoshikawa is taking a similar position at San Francisco, where he will work under his childhood friend, recently appointed coach Rex Walters. [5/01/08]

Gonzaga Guard Testing NBA Opportunity: Gonzaga junior Jeremy Pargo will test the NBA waters by declaring for the draft and will not hire an agent. Pargo said this will be a great opportunity, and he is looking forward to the pre-draft workouts. He will have until June 16 to make his decision on whether to return to Gonzaga or stay in the draft. Jeremy averaged 12.1 points and six assists per game this past season with the Zags. [4/19/08]

Former San Fransisco Coach Sues University: Jesse Evans has sued the University of San Fransisco for wrongful termination. The coach was fired last month after being forced to take a leave of absence in December. Eddie Sutton took over as coach of the Dons and won his 800th game with the team. [4/09/08]

Lions Hire Trail Blazer Assistant: Loyola Marymount looked to the NBA to find its next coach. The Lions have hired Portland assistant Bill Bayno to succeed Rodney Tention, who led Loyola Marymount to a 5-26 record this past season. Bayno has worked at UNLV as the Rebels' coach from 1995 to 2000. He was fired after allegations surfaced that he violated recruiting rules in courting Lamar Odom in 1997. But those allegations proved false, and Bayno won a settlement fro wrongful termination. In a little more than five years with the Rebels, Bayno led UNLV to a 96-65 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances. [4/05/08]

Grier Says No to Oregon State: San Diego coach Billy Grier isn't ready to ditch the West Coast Conference for the Pac-10. The Toreros' coach turned down Oregon State's offer to replace Jay John as the Beavers' coach. Grier led San Diego to the NCAA Tournament and a first-round upset of No. 4 Connecticut. After this season's success, San Diego will be a favorite in the WCC next season because the team doesn't have any seniors on its roster. [4/05/08]

West Region - Second Round: No. 12 Western Kentucky continued its run in the NCAA Tournament with a 72-63 win against No. 13 San Diego. The Hilltoppers earn a match up with UCLA in Phoenix. Senior swingman Courtney Lee kept Western Kentucky on pace with 29 points and six rebounds. The Hilltoppers led comfortably before the Toreros made a second-half charge that cut Western Kentucky's lead to two. Western Kentucky was strong at the free throw line down the stretch, hitting 16-of-21 free throws. Junior swingman Gyno Pomare had 20 points and nine rebounds to help San Diego stay close. [3/23/08]

Midwest Region - First Round: No. 2 Georgetown shut down No. 10 Maryland-Baltimore County 66-47 to move into the second round against Davidson. The Hoyas' defense held the Retrievers to 32.7 percent shooting from the field. UMBC hit eight three-pointers to avoid an embarrassing blowout, but the Retrievers could not handle Georgetown's experience and height. Seniors Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert scored 13 apiece to lead Georgetown, which had four players reach double figures in scoring. Georgetown also hit three-pointers and shot 51 percent from the field.

No. 13 Siena became the second 13-seed to win in Tampa today, following in the footsteps of San Diego against Connecticut earlier this afternoon. The Saints squashed No. 4 Vanderbilt 83-62 by preventing the Commodores from hitting three-pointers. Vanderbilt was only 4-of-20 from three-point range, and senior guard Shan Foster was only 1-of-5 from long range to finish with 13 points. Junior guard Kenny Hasbrouck led the Saints with 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line, and Siena was 22-of-25 from the line to help the Saints hold off a Vanderbilt team that struggled at times to score. Siena will play Villanova next.

Tampa Turmoil delivered the final surprise of the day as No. 12 Villanova erased an 18-point first-half hole to upset No. 5 Clemson 75-60, the fourth double-digit seed to upset a team in Tampa today. Coach Jay Wright coined the term Tampa Turmoil after the game to explain the madness occurring in Florida. Sophomore sharpshooter Scottie Reynolds caught fire at the right time to lead the Wildcats with 21 points and hit four three-pointers. Clemson's free throw shooting woes helped Villanova come back as the Tigers hit only 14-of-23 attempts.

No. 10 Davidson and sophomore sharpshooter Stephen Curry ousted No. 7 Gonzaga 82-76, rallying from an 11-point hole behind Curry's 40 points. Curry broke a tie with a three-pointer in the final minute, and the Wildcats held off the Bulldogs at the free throw line. Gonzaga contained Curry in the first half, holding him to 10 points, but he exploded in the second half for 30, finishing 8-of-11 from three-point range. [3/21/08]

South Region - First Round: No. 1 Memphis used a 15-2 first-half run to pull away from No. 16 Texas-Arlington and eventually win 87-63. Junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts led the Tigers with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Memphis shot 51.9 percent from the field to overwhelm the Mavericks in waves. Junior forward Anthony Vereen did his best to keep Texas-Arlington close by scoring 20 points, but the Mavericks didn't have enough firepower to stay close.

Sophomore point guard D.J. Augustin had only six points for No. 2 Texas in a 74-54 win against No. 15 Austin Peay. But Augustin didn't need to score in bunches this afternoon with junior guard A.J. Abrams shooting 10-of-17 from the field and finishing with 26 points. Augustin orchestrated the dissection of the Governors with eight assists. Austin Peay could not answer Texas on offense, shooting only 28.3 percent from the field. Texas will play Miami in the second round.

Trailing by five at halftime, No. 7 Miami used a 25-5 run to seize the lead and cruise to a 76-61 win against No. 10 St. Mary's. Junior guard Jack McClinton dominated the second half, scoring 32 of his 38 points in the half. McClinton was unstoppable going to the basket or shooting from long range, and he finished 12-of-18 from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. The Gaels struggled against Miami's defense, shooting 37.5 percent from the field. Only freshman guard Patrick Mills scored in double figures, with 21 points.

No. 9 Oregon started the first half on a torrid shooting pace and built a 13-point lead moments into the second half after hitting the team's eighth three-pointer. But the Ducks didn't hit another three until the final seconds in a 76-69 loss to No. 8 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs clamped down on defense, holding Oregon to 9-of-38 shooting from three-point range for the game. Senior forward Charles Rhodes provided much of Mississippi State's offense with 34 points on 10-of-12 shooting. [3/21/08]

West Region - First Round: Freshman guard Trumaine Johnson hit a driving jump shot with less than two seconds to go in overtime to lift No. 13 San Diego to a 70-69 upset of No. 4 Connecticut. The Toreros become the worst seed to advance so far, displacing No. 12 Western Kentucky, which beat Drake on the same court in Tampa earlier in the day. Junior forward Gyno Pomare was 10-of-12 from the field to lead San Diego with 22 points. Despite having a significant rebounding advantage, the Huskies could not overcome the loss of starting point guard A.J. Price to an injury early in the game. The Huskies committed 15 turnovers in the game, and Price played only nine minutes. Sophomore guard Jerome Dyson helped the Huskies get to overtime by hitting two game-tying free throws in regulation. He hit two more in overtime with 10 seconds remaining to give Connecticut a 69-68 lead and set up Johnson's heroics. The Toreros will play Western Kentucky, ensuring that a double-digit seed will reach the Sweet 16 this season.

No. 12 Western Kentucky pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament in the best game of the tournament so far, beating No. 5 Drake 101-99 in overtime. Trailing by one with five seconds remaining, senior guard Ty Rogers hit a long buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Hilltoppers the win. Western Kentucky led most of regulation before Drake went on a furious 29-14 run to end the second half and force overtime. Junior forward Jonathan Cox hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to tie the game, and Western Kentucky couldn't win it regulation. Cox finished with 29 points to lead the Bulldogs, and Western Kentucky senior guard Tyrone Brazelton led everyone with 33 points. [3/21/08]

Loyola Marymount Coach Leaves: Rodney Tention resigned as Loyola Marymount basketball coach last week after going 5-26 this season and 30-61 overall in three years with the Lions. Tention's first season as the Lions' coach was his best as they finished second in the WCC and reached the conference tournament title. Prior to arriving at Loyola Marymount, Tention was an assistant coach at Arizona for eight seasons. [3/17/08]

Las Vegas to Host WCC Tournament: The 2009 West Coast Conference Tournament will be held in Las Vegas, the first time the tourney will be at a neutral site. It will be held at the 7,000-seat Orleans Arena. Previously, the WCC has rotated its site between the home courts of one of the schools in southern California, northern California and the Pacific Northwest. [3/11/08]

West Coast Conference Tournament Championship: Bubble teams nationwide watched another at-large bid slip away as No. 3 San Diego captured the West Coast Conference's championship and automatic bid with a 69-62 win against No. 1 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs and St. Mary's will likely join the Toreros in the NCAA Tournament. San Diego had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by sophomore guard De'Jon Jackson with 16 points. Junior forward Gyno Pomare had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds. The Toreros dominated in rebounding, giving the team many second chances. Gonzaga shot 50 percent from the field but missed on all 10 three-point attempts. [3/10/08]

West Coast Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 1 Gonzaga didn't have an easy evening, but the Bulldogs held off No. 4 Santa Clara 52-48 to reach the conference championship game. Junior guard Jeremy Pargo hit two free throws in the final minute to extend a one-point lead. Junior forward Josh Heytvelt was the only Bulldog to score in double figures with 15 points.

Few people on the East Coast probably stayed up to witness one of the best conference tournament games Sunday, as No. 3 San Diego knocked off No. 2 St. Mary's 75-69 in double overtime to advance to the championship game against Gonzaga. The Toreros overcame a 16-2 hole to start the game and a double-digit deficit in the second half. San Diego ended regulation with a 15-2 run. Senior guard Brandon Johnson led the Toreros with 28 points, nearly quadrupling his season average. After each team scored only three points in the first overtime, San Diego put up 20 points in the second overtime for the win. The Toreros made 13-of-20 free throws in the second overtime. San Diego lost by four in the regular season when the Bulldogs played the Toreros in San Diego. [3/09/08]

West Coast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 4 Santa Clara needed all of junior center John Bryant's 25 points to outlast No. 5 San Francisco 51-50. Bryant also had 17 rebounds for the Broncos, who held the Dons to 31.3 percent shooting from the field in erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 Gonzaga. No. 3 San Diego protected home court by beating No. 6 Pepperdine 73-55, moving into the semifinals against No. 2 St. Mary's. Sophomore guard De'Jon Jackson led the Toreros with a career-high 24 points. [3/08/08]

West Coast Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 5 San Francisco ended No. 8 Loyola Marymount's season with a 70-60 victory. Sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn had 26 points to lead the Dons. Coach Eddie Sutton picked up his 804th career victory and first West Coast Conference Tournament win. The Dons will play No. 4 Santa Clara in the quarterfinals. No. 6 Pepperdine survived an anemic offense at the end of the game to beat No. 7 Portland 50-48 in overtime. The Waves blew an 11-point lead and scored only six points in the final 11 minutes of the game, but they outscored the Pilots 4-2 in overtime. Freshman guard Tyrone Shelley led Pepperdine with 21 points. The Waves will play No. 3 San Diego in the quarterfinals. [3/07/08]